Y-Chromosome Micro-What?

After our last appointment fiasco, we were both dreading going back to our fertility specialist. Unfortunately, that was the only way we were going to get any answers.

Based on the labs that Aaron had done, our doctor knew that whatever was causing his problem was likely to be genetic. She said that in a normal male reproductive system, the brain tells the testes to produce sperm, the testes send a signal to the brain letting it know that they've done their job, and the cycle repeats. In Aaron's case, his brain is telling his body to produce, but it's as if his body doesn't hear the command. This is causing his brain to "yell" which then kicks his body into production mode sending the signal to the brain to say it's done what it should have. His brain then goes back to using its "inside voice" leading him to stop producing again. This is why his sperm count was fluctuating with each sample they had tested. The worst part? Over time, the response that his brain gets from his body will become less and less. Eventually, no matter how hard his brain works, it will not be able to get a response AT ALL from his testes, meaning he will no longer produce sperm. Let me just tell you, when you have a strong desire to become a mother, that is more than enough to make your heart sink to the floor.

Our doctor gave us two specific orders and made it clear that both were very important. She wanted Aaron to be tested for two different genetic conditions and she was also sending a referral to a male fertility urologist at UNC. She requested that Aaron get the labs done and an appointment scheduled at his earliest convenience. In addition, we were told that when we got there for our consultation, Aaron was to give a sample that we could have frozen as a back up. Her reasoning was understandable and also hard to swallow.
You see, with Aaron's condition, it is certain that he will stop producing sperm but when or how long it will be until that happens is unknown. He could stop producing tomorrow or it may be 10 years from now but all we can do is prepare for the worst case scenario.
So, we did what we were told.

I'm sure you can recall the horrible day that I checked Aaron's MyChart.. The results I read on the way to my appointment that day were the results that confirmed everything my doctor told us that she had thought to be true. My husband does have a genetic condition that would eventually cause him to stop producing sperm. 
The next few days were flooded with emails and phone calls containing words and phrases such as "ASAP", "quickly", and "sooner rather than later." We tried not to panic but it was all such a whirlwind of emotions and uncertainty of what the future of the family we longed to have could look like.

Aaron's condition is called Y-Chromosome Microdeletion. Our doctor threw out a bunch of big words and medical terms but it all boiled down to the simple explanation I just gave you of his brain and testes not communicating as they should. Thankfully, this condition will not affect any other aspects of his health but is obviously having a substantial impact on our ability to reproduce.

Now that we had the test results back, some idea of what we were facing, and a fear that Aaron might stop producing sperm at any moment, it felt as if our appointment at UNC couldn't come fast enough.